Rescue advice

I just lost my dog last week. It's definitely too soon for me to get another, but this time around I think I want to get a rescue. I definitely want a purebred adult lab (not a puppy.) For some reason, thinking about getting another dog is making me feel better about losing my dog. I would not have predicted that -- I figured it would be a very long time before I'd be able to get another dog after she was gone.

So I am looking for advice on two things. One, where are the best places to look (at some point) for a rescue lab? I am in the New England area. Two, how will I know when I am ready?

Though others in your area can better address your rescue concern, I'd recommend Petfinder as a starting point. That site lists rescues and, I believe, identifies those that are breed-specific. Though you can also find a pure bred Lab in a regular rescue or shelter.

You'll know when you're ready. If you're questioning it now, you probably aren't....but you're ready to start looking into it (see above).

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When my Wrigley (a griff, not a lab) was about to be PTS, I said I couldn't have another but the day after I had already contacted a breeder and arranged for a deposit on a new Griff pup. We have to wait a year for the breeding, but I had to take that step otherwise I would have been too sad. There is nothing wrong with getting a new dog. I don't think the one that's gone would hold it against us...

As far as where to look, I don't know about rescues but you can work with a breeder who is looking for a home for an older dog. LRCGB: Breeder Referral I would put feelers out and see what happens. If it feels OK to be looking, then you know it's OK to proceed.

As Sundance said, Petfinder is an excellent starting place. It has a search engine for all the specifications you put in. When I lost my Cracker seven years ago, at first I thought no more dogs, but I had learned so much about labs on this board and everyone was very helpful, my heart just said go. I found Gabe on Petfinder and he is exactly what I wanted.

Maybe give yourself a little time , but you can start searching anytime now.

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Very sorry to hear of you loss. Everyone is different and only you can know when it's time for a new dog. For me, a house isn't a home without a Lab in it. I've been labless only two times in the past 33 years. Once for two weeks, and once for 5 months.

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Petfinder is a good start even if you only use it to find some rescue names and then go to their pages.

If you go with an all breed rescue, often it's best to complete an application and screening even if they do not currently have a dog you want (if the rescue does screening ahead). Though many all breed rescues get labs too.

Contacting local reputable breeders is a good source. A few I know in Iowa network when there is a lab to be homed. Don't know if you want a pup or older dog, but breeders sometimes will have subadults and/or adults they want to home. Absolutely nothing wrong with these dogs. Maybe one was kept out of a litter that did not mature as expected. I've had several who were bred and retired. In fact, right now I have Katie who was bred once, had to have a C-section and the owner did not want to put her through anything like that again. She's absolutely perfect.

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North East All Retriever Rescue or NEARR is awesome (I co-founded it!). However, I haven't been apart of the group since I moved across the country 12 years ago and they recently merged with Save-A-Dog, who I knew very well back then. Save-A-Dog is different now -- much bigger, have a shelter, etc. -- but they do get purebred Labs in lieu of the work that NEARR used to do. My only beef with them is that they always had SO MANY DOGS that they couldn't properly evaluate them. They were constantly shipping dogs in from other areas -- litters from the south, flying dogs in from Mexico, etc. -- and it was basically a shelter operation vs. really getting to know the dogs and placing them in appropriate homes. Perhaps that has changed? New England Lab Rescue was never very active; not sure if that has changed. Lucky Lab Rescue seems super active and I'd want to look further into them. How do they get so many dogs? If they are legit, that might be a good option. You can also ask the shelters which rescues they recommend.

Thank you, everyone, for your good advice and the links to the different organizations. Am diving into all of that information now.

I know I am not ready now. But, I do have a big gaping hole in my heart and life that needs to be filled by a lab soon. Just don't know when "soon" is.

Since the adoption process can take six months or more, especially since you are looking for a purebred Lab, I'd say start it now and go from there. You'll have your application evaluated, then a phone call, then a home check...then the long wait.